


Mask of the Exile

by Farstrider



Category: Original Work
Genre: Detectives, F/M, Gen, M/M, Magic, Multi, Original Character(s), Superheroes, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-01-07
Updated: 2012-01-07
Packaged: 2017-10-29 03:48:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/315481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Farstrider/pseuds/Farstrider
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world not too dissimilar to our own and just a few decades in the future Agent Christina Manning of the Department of Meta-Human Affairs is called into a case. A stadium full of people goes inexplicably mad and the only lead they have is a single suspect who will talk to no one but her. No one knows anything about him beyond what they find in his wallet and yet he is tied to a series of events that could lead Manning deeper down the rabbit hole. What she finds as she follows the threads of his past could let lose the skeletons in the closets of one of the greatest heroes on the East Coast and expose a dark cult tied to the very same person.</p><p>But not every secret wants to be found... and her suspect may be the only one who can save her... if he can remember what he is running from.</p><p>A tale of betrayal, magic, mystery, and the birth of a Hero yet to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Introduction

Location: Bel View Meta-Human Facility somewhere in the Gulf Coast.

 

                The call to show up to Bel View had come in late, right in the middle of a rain-checked dinner date, and called her away from DC. She was sure when she got back her at the moment boyfriend would have found someone new and she wasn’t too disappointed in it. He was nice enough of a man however not man enough for Christina Manning. She liked her men hard bodied with rapier wit and an easy smile. She mused as the car from the airport pulled up to the meta human holding facility the only man for her would be on the inside of the world she worked in. An agent of the Department of Meta-Human Affairs rarely had time for romance however between cases and tailings. The people she was used to working with were hard bodied, hard mined and driven to the point of obsession. You had to be when dealing with targets, suspects, and individuals who for all intents and purposes were not human… they were something more.

                Christina herself had been born a Null, immune to magic and any kind of mental ability short of things being telekinetically thrown at her. The world of comic books her Grandfather told her about seemed to be real to her as the meta human population grew along side with the immergence of super naturals and magic users. She was fascinated by them, how they thought, how they worked. She had the same gum shoe drive her Grandfather had for crime. The DMA was a natural fit.

                It didn’t mean she enjoyed seeing how these fellow citizens were treated due to that difference however. Especially in places like Bel View. It was once a prison, maximum security and armed to the gills. It had been beefed up to hold individuals with unnatural powers and abilities. It was also situated in the middle of a swamp which made the gaters, snakes and sink holes unpaid additional security. The rain pouring down from the evening sky and the thick vines and moss growing on the outer fences just added to the ominous feeling of going into a place like this. Sure the interior was painted up pretty, like any mental hospital would be or clinic. Clinics however did not have guards with rifles or power suppressant collars on every guest and patient. They didn’t have solitary confinement cells and jumpsuits either. The entire place made Chris nervous but it was part of the job.

                She checked herself in the mirror in her purse one more time, making sure her suit was still crisp despite the flight and that her dark blond hair was still pinned up perfectly despite the humidity. She almost regretted wearing the heals she had on but it would keep her that much higher off the murky ground. Adjusting her glasses one more time she closed the mirror and tucked it into her purse before slipping it into her bag. When the car came to a stop a guard opened the door for her, already holding an umbrella.

                “Here we are Agent Manning.” He said, southern drawl dropping several letters from her name. “Your partner is already here.”

                “I’m not surprised.” She said smiling at the man and taking the umbrella. He didn’t smile back though a little bit of one danced in his eyes. “Like a dog that’s caught scent of a bone…” she muttered as they walked in past two gates of security fencing and into the building proper.

The high gray concrete walls gave way to gray floors and garishly painted dark mustard walls inside. Standing out of the colorful background like a tall gray weed was her partner. Agent Andrew White was about eight years her senior and only showed by the slight hints of gray forming at his temples. His stern, square features marked him easily as a military man like generations before him. He still looked like he could strap on the equipment of his old days, be it the Rangers or ATF, and give every one of those young bloods a run for their money. He dwarfed her in many ways; powerful stance, broad shoulders, easily a head and a half taller with blue steely eyes that had in fact made men piss themselves, meta or not. He had grown into being in a suit though the moment he could put on fatigues he was a much more comfortable creature. He fiddled with his black tie as he waited alongside a shorter rounder man in a dark blue suit with a handkerchief hanging awkwardly out of a breast pocket. Like a pit bull staring down a pudgy bull dog.

“Agent White.” She greeted, nodding her head. He turned and stood more rigidly, his relaxed version of attention.

“Glad to see you could make it from DC, Agent Manning.” His voice was as authoritative as his posture and it helped chase away any errant thoughts in her mind. “This is Administrator McAlistair.” He gestured to the balding man.

“Warden Frank McAlistair, though I guess the legislative types rather not use that word these days.” He smiled; his drawl just as easy as that smile as he took her hand and rather than snake it kissed the back of it. “Welcome to Bel View Agent Manning… you just brightened up our day.”

Chris smiled at him, the soft palliative type as she drew her hand back. “The pleasure is mine, Mr. McAlistair.” She moved to stand beside her partner completing the set of prim and proper suits standing in the foyer. “I wasn’t given much in the way of details when it came to the call… mind if I ask to be read into it?”

“Of course Miss Manning… if it’s all right to call you that...” the Warden added and she nodded, it was best to get a little familiarity it could help the case go smoother. “We were waiting for your arrival before I took your partner, Agent White, on the grand tour.” The way he said her partner’s name told her that it was, indeed, not all right to call him by any other title or name. She smiled a little bit Andrew’s way. He huffed and adjusted his tie again.

“Bel View was originally a maximum security correctional facility. After the 80s however it was converted over to meta human containment and treatment. There have been numerous upgrades and changes to make all the residents here feel a bit more comfortable but a prison is a prison by any name no matter how pretty you dress her up.” Warden McAlistair explained as they walked through the halls and checkpoints. It looked to Chris like some weird mashup of hospital, prison, and college campus. Walking past a view port she could see tables and comfortable looking couches around a tv area where residents gathered in small groups. Institutional uniforms, branding bracelets and thick collars on each one stood out among the laughter or quiet talking. “The collars you see are suppressant collars, originally created in Germany. Trust those kraut lovers to figure a way to suppress a people I tell you what.” McAlistair said with a bit of a laugh though he was the only one. “Ahem what they do is make it difficult for one to use any inherent gifts which make it safer for my staff to work among them without worrying about an outburst. If there is an issue however they can be activated to give a deterrent jolt to the system.”

“Meaning it has a built in tazer of sorts.” Chris asked, noting a few inmates who were watching them pass had bandages around their necks or scaring.

“It hasn’t been approved for use anywhere else in the country yet, Miss Manning. We here at Bel View are the trial case. So far it has done what is needed. The jolt isn’t that bad even to a human. Persistent disobedience or disorderly conduct has proved to require adjustments to the settings.” McAlistair smiled at her though it was a little… greasier than last time. It made her skin crawl a little. “In another six months your department is supposed to do a review of the complex.”

“We are not a part of that detail. We are just here about the University incident.” Agent White assured the Warden as they passed into another set of halls where orderlies and doctors walked about.

“Ah yes. The suspect detained in the incident is here in our medical ward. It used to be one of the solitary confinement wings but has been changed to accommodate any unknown metas, injuries or the… mentally unstable.” McAlistair gestured to some of the doors where doctors observed or entered; inmates in different uniforms of various states of treatments hunkered behind or paced like animals. “This ward also acts as a sort of quarantine for new arrivals before they are introduced to the rest of the population.”

Chris noted as they walked that one of the doctors had looked up at them and seemed to be waiting patiently at one of the doors. He was thin as a rail, graying blond hair that looked as if his glasses lived among the strands half the day. He had kind gray eyes that looked as weary as the permanent sad frown on his wrinkled features. Their gaze met and that frown deepened along with the furrowed wrinkles of his brow.

“Miss Manning, Agent White this is our chief medical officer Dr. Henry Oliver.” McAlistair introduced amid a round of hand shaking. His hands, to Chris, were weathered and had a great deal of power even if he gripped her hand carefully. “He has been observing your suspect since he was brought in.”

“Thank you for coming on such short notice.” Dr. Oliver said nodding at them both. “The patient has been fairly quiet since he was brought in the night before last. Any attempts at questioning have been met with silence. I’m unsure if its due to the shock of what happened or simply fear of this place.”

“Can you tell us what happened?” Chris prompted. She watched the doctor flip through his clipboard.

“Ah here we are. Lets see… three days ago during a college foot ball game at about half time a riot erupted without seeming provocation after a call was made by a local ref. There should not have been this violent a reaction and the resulting riot caused the injuries of 47 people, three of which are in critical condition. One is a seven year old girl, daughter of the home team coach. After riot police were called in, a young man was found beneath the stands in what seemed the middle of a pulmonary heart failure. Anyone who got close to him however either broke into hysterics, collapsed in pain and shock or was frightened away. It took four rounds of knock out gas to subdue him. An officer fired a tazer but to no effect. Ten minutes after the young man was subdued the entire stadium calmed down. Everyone interviewed described moments of uncontrollable confusion, panic, anger or fear. The most repeated reaction was ‘it felt like someone just leapt into my mind and made me do what I did. I could not stop myself’. After the subject awoke in holding the prisoners in the jail he was housed in began to act hysterically as well. A sedative was administered and he was brought here.” Dr. Oliver read from the reports, handing a copy to Agent White.

Chris moved to the window to look in on their suspect as the others talked behind her about details of the incident. The walls were painted more of that ‘cheerful’ yellow gold, one wall painted a deep burgundy. The ceiling was still white, slabs of segmented cement with lighting fixtures buried in them ruined the attempted cheerful mood as easily as the slab bed and stainless steel toilet did. Their suspect was curled up in a corner on the bed, long legs drawn up to his chest with his arms wrapped around them. His slightly long dark brown hair was a messy mop atop his knees. Behind her Agent White read off his details.

“Kyle Jonathan Date, age 22, sophomore at a state university in Colorado. Average grades, relatively quiet… hum music major. No previous signs of meta abilities. On self harm watch, interrogated twice, held in psy-resistant cell.” Agent White flipped through various charts. “Not a lot of information on him.”

“We are still working to get all his details.” Warden McAlistair said, mopping his brow with his handkerchief. “We’ve set aside an office for you two ta work out of just off our interview rooms which are just down the hall.”

“We will want to talk to him as soon as possible.” Chris said, looking in as the young man shifted to look at her. Amber eyes, the color of dark honey, looked at her as if trying to discern what she wanted. The eyes of a scared animal, she mused… determining if you are friend or foe. “Are you sure that this is meta based?”

“I have found no conclusive evidence as of yet one way or the other, Agent Manning.” Dr. Oliver said rubbing his neck. “To be honest he’s only been here a day and I have a very full ward. We have to outsource any magical testing but I need to complete my interviews and panels first.”

“That’s understandable Dr Oliver.” She said straightening up and looking at him. “When you can have him moved to an interview room.” She saw him about to voice protest and raised a hand. “My partner and I are Nulls, even if it is a meta ability like telepathy it won’t affect us collar or not.”

“A rare trait in this day and age...” She could see the fascination spark in his eyes. Not many got to study null individuals before and the questions were mounting in his head.

“It’s one of the requirements for working in the Department.” Agent White spoke up, taking a half step in front of her. “I want any and all documentation about the suspect available to us: records, notes, observations, tapes, anything. If we are not here we will be in touch and expected to be kept in the loop.”

“Of course Agent White.” McAlistair said waving his hand. “Please let me show you the way and we can let the good doctor get your suspect moved.” The warden led them away from the Doctor and the door. Chris couldn’t help but look back and notice the shadow of the young man haunting the window, watching her walk away. She shook her head, trying to banish the feeling he heard everything.

They were lead around another check point and to a set of offices, shown into one that had hastily been put together as a field office, a door leading to the interview room on the opposite wall. Two large desks were shoved together like a police bull pen, computer monitors off set so they could see one another and copies of case files on both desks.  This had to have been a break room at some point or maybe the Warden was trying to be accommodating; a mini fridge and a coffee maker sat on a counter. On a wall a large screen was mounted, digital information about the case already up there. Opposite it was a white board and a smattering of magnets. Chris was already sure her partner would use it far more than the overgrown tv screen.

“If y’all need me just dial 122 and you will reach my radio. Was there anything else y’all needed?” McAlistair asked, looking between the two. She could see White’s brain work on all the inadequacies he could find and just how to voice them. She decided to beat him to the punch.

“We’ll let you know if we need anything else. We’re ok for now.” She smiled at him sweetly. “Thank you Warden.”

“You are most welcome ma’am.” He nodded to them both and headed out the door, closing it behind him. Chris counted to three and turned around to see her partner already searching for bugs.

“You are so paranoid.” She said shaking her head and moving to the wall mounted camera, unplugging it and removing the lens to check for another hidden inside.

“Have to be when you aren’t.” He replied pulling a few little listening devices out of hiding and running a pocket scanner over them, deactivating the lot. “We will have to do frequent sweeps. Our work might be for the public good but I don’t trust this place.”

“I figured you would love a place like this Andrew.” Chris sat down at the computer, booting it up and sliding in a thumb drive. The software immediately began to run, cleaning any watchers off the network and securing the terminal.

“Metas do deserve to be hold up if they cause trouble but this place wants autonomy. McAlistair likes to play at God.” The former Ranger sat down in the chair, far too big a man for the small desk. “I don’t like how little intel we have on this kid either. Just school records and a driver’s license. If this had happened back east we’d have everything from birth certificate, damn dental records hell even his grade school report cards.”

“If he is a meta than those records would be under the student protection act.” Chris pointed out. “Someone in his family could also be a cape, which affords him more protection than most.”

“Damn Capes…” White growled, all but spitting the word out. “Probably thinks’ he’s going to become one too I bet now. Kid like that gets a taste of power and he won’t want to let go of it mark my words.”

“You make it sound like he’s already chosen that life before we’ve met him.” Chris crossed her arms over her chest. “He looked terrified and genuinely so. If his powers had just surfaced now than I could understand all of this being down right frightening.”

“Ha… you make it sound like the worst case of puberty ever.” White scoffed.

“Maybe I sympathize a bit with late bloomers.” She shrugged and started working on an uplink to their servers back in DC. She could see her partner looking at her in a way she never liked. “Stop staring at me like I’m a damn Russian spy or something.”

“Some days, Chris, I wonder if you are on the same side as I am…” It was one quality she hated about him. His drive, his mission… he hated Meta humans and she still, after three years, had not figured out why.

“I don’t hold grudges, Andy.” She said, knowing he hated that name. “I want to know the truth before I judge anyone. This kid is hiding a lot.”

“And he will keep hiding a lot more…”

“Only if you look at him the way you are looking at me right now… partner.”

A knock on the door broke the staring contest. “Agent White, Agent Manning… the young man you wished to speak with is in the interview room now.” An orderly stuck his head in the door, as if he could feel that going any further would he hazardous to his health.

“Thank you.” Chris said standing up. “Shall I speak with him or would you like to see what information you can get back from DC?” She deliberately didn’t suggest he start talking to the boy, he seemed to dislike authority.

“Cute one… I’ll call Jamison and see what I can get.” White waved her off and hunched over the keyboard dismissing her. He trusted her enough to do the job just not a lot else.


	2. Bare Lightbulbs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agent Manning gets some time alone with their suspect.

Chris stood in the observation room for a few minutes, just trying to get a feel for the young man beyond the glass. It was obvious that he’d had the collar tested; a ring of irritated red skin circled his neck beneath the less than stylish accessory. There were holes in his ears from piercings that had probably been confiscated. He looked like your average college student, a little too buff for a band geek, slouched in such a way he was used to not attracting attention. He had the ‘ignore me’ vibe going on even though he was the only one as far as he knew in the room. He was picking at the cuff of his jumpsuit, slowly fraying the fabric under short strong nails. He did have musicians hands, a bit stronger maybe than someone would expect for a non jock though… an errant thought ran through her mind of how those fingers would feel running through her hair. It was an entirely bizarre thought… though considering it was the last thing she was doing with whats-his-name only a few hours ago maybe it wasn’t so surprising. He was very attractive but far, far too young.

There, she told herself as she picked up the case file, that is the last thought I will have on the subject.

He looked up from the table as she entered the room, honey eyes settling on her and once again trying to discern her intent, who she was just by looking at her. What intrigued her was this disappointed look, as if he was expecting some greater insight that just didn’t show.

“Good evening Mr… Date right?” She asked smiling at him. He simply nodded and fidgeted a bit in his chair, straightening to look a bit more presentable despite his continued silence. “I’m Agent Manning. I will be involved with this investigation. I know that this is probably a bit scary but do you understand why you are in a place like this?”

Date tilted his head to the side, seeming to mull it over a bit before nodding again. “ You and your partner are here to determine if the event that occurred was my doing and if the nature of the powers were meta-human or of magical nature.”

“So you do understand some of what’s going on.” Chris smiled a bit ad opened the case file taking a few notes. If he knew that much than he himself had to know a bit about meta laws and it increased the chance of him being one.

“If you find out I am one then I’m going to end up here aren’t I?” He asked in a much quieter tone, “I mean that is why I am here right… danger to society and all.”

“Is that what they told you?”

“They didn’t have to say it, though they did.” He shrugged, picking again at his cuff. “You can see it in how they move, how the guards look at you and the smirk on McAlistair’s face.”

“So you are good at reading people?”

“Not like that… and no I am not trying to read you that way either.” He tapped the side of his head, “Telepathy isn’t something I can do. I just learned to read people.” He shrugged again, tucking a leg up on the end of the uncomfortably cheep plastic chair.

“Do you have any metas in your family history?” She asked directly, choosing to read his reaction. It proved to be the best idea as he didn’t say anything, clamming right back up. “Ok than what can you tell me about what happened at the game?”

“I was there with some friends, traveled with the school. I have a journalism class and it landed me doing sports reporting for the school paper and blog. I’d gotten up to go down to the field and see if I could interview the assistant coach about the call that was made when my chest just… started to hurt.” He ran his hands along the front of his jumpsuit, like one would for heartburn. “It wouldn’t stop, felt like a hand was going through my chest. Then everything just… started to go out of control.”

“Have you been aware of any powers since you were a teenager?”

“Nothing of major note. I was tested, everyone is these days if they want to do sports even just write about them.”

“I saw the results were negative… it says here that you are a ward of your Grandmother?”

“Yes… Obasama … sorry Grandma Lu took custody of me when I was 17.”

“Do you know why?”

“No… I don’t.” He shifted his eyes away then, curling a bit into himself. She was intrigued by the lapse in language too and the harder she looked the faint traces of an Asian heritage could be seen in his skin tone and the slight fold at the edges of his eyes. “She’s Japanese?”

“Quarter… her mother was half, married a serviceman during world war two.” He explained. “I took her name when I became her ward.”

“What was your birth name?”

He looked at her for a long considering moment, seeming a bit upset for some reason. “I’m sorry ma’am but…I don’t think I ought to say any more.”

“You do know that a lawyer has yet to be appointed to you and it may be a while before you can have legal counsel. Any help you can give us now will help you in the long run.”

“I know… it … its complicated. It’s dangerous and complicated…” he began to rub at his chest again, face contorting as if uncomfortable.

“Are you all right?”

“I’ll be fine… I…can I go back to my cell now?”He was looking past her now and she turned to see White had joined her in the interview room, looming over her.

“Anything you would like to ask, Agent White?” She asked looking up at him than back over to their suspect.

“No.” He said glowering directly at the young man, making him shrink further in the chair. “Not at the moment. Just know, Mr. Date… we will get to the bottom of this. The information we have on you is thick as tissues and will get blown away just as easy. I will find out everything about you, every last detail, and when it’s over I will make sure that your new roommates here all know it too if you refuse to cooperate.”

“It isn’t wanting to not cooperate… to an extent.” He said glaring up at White. “To an extent I can’t.”

“The ol amnesia excuse… maybe you were just drugged out of your mind… music major huh? Just want to live on the coat tails of the greats or something? Be a rock star? Be famous? Meta musicians make a lot of money, get a lot of women… If you stay here the most popular you could ever be is in the showers…”

“I think that’s enough, Agent White.” Chris warned, glaring up at him.

“I’m just getting started…”

“And that’s why you are stopping now.”

“You have me wrong, Agent…” Date interrupted, looking the man in the eye for the first time. Gone was all the nervous fidgeting, the passive posture and slouching. It added a level of confidence to him that Chris had to admit in the face of her partner was admirable. “All I ever wanted to be was normal.”

“That is something you will never be and you ought to get used to it, boy.” White was leaning on the table next to Date, looming over him, crowding him in. To his credit the kid managed to hold his ground before looking away, looking at her before looking at the table.

“I will go back to my cell now.”

“You will stay here and answer every question I ask…”

“I think we are done here tonight.” Chris stood up, slamming her folder shut and gestured to the door. She knew that they’d get no more out of him. He’d clam up, be unresponsive and infuriate her partner like he had every guard and officer so far. She hit a buzzer in the observation room just inside the door, calling the guards to take him back to his cell. “We will continue this conversation on a much more civilized level tomorrow.”

She sent a withering glare at her partner and he stormed past her back into the observation room. As the guards moved Date back to his cell their eyes caught, a quiet thankfulness in his gaze before he looked away. She had a feeling he would only talk to her now, that his trust, his faith, rested tentatively in her. It was a slightly frightening responsibility.


End file.
